Opening up about his time in papaya so far, Oscar says he’s settled in well with the team, explaining how he’s adjusted to his new car and providing an honest assessment of his performances in the opening three rounds.   

Oscar scored his first McLaren points in the most recent round of the season at the Australia Grand Prix, climbing up through the field from 16th to finish eighth, two places behind teammate Lando.  

During a mini-break between races, Oscar offered an insight into the learning process he’s been undertaking, which has involved testing, track time and many hours spent at the McLaren Technology Centre on the simulator and pouring over the data.  

“It’s the same with every new car,” he began. “For me, this is a very different set of regulations compared to every other series I have driven in, with the downforce mainly coming from the floor, so it has been a learning process, but I feel like I am now getting more and more settled in.  

“The tyres are quite different to the tyres I have driven on before, including the previous F1 tyres, so there are a lot of differences, but I am getting more comfortable every time I jump in the car.”  

It’s been an up-and-down start to life in F1 for the rookie, who enjoyed a brilliant qualifying session in Round 2 at Saudi Arabia, earning him eighth on the grid for the race. However, a collision in the opening laps forced him into the pits and dropped him to the back of the grid. 

It was a similar story in the season opener, where he endured an early Lap 15 retirement. But his hard work was finally rewarded on home turf in Melbourne, as the Aussie ace steered clear of the chaos around him to seal his first points.  

Asked whether anything had surprised him in the opening three races, he responded: “At the moment, just how incredibly tight the field is. We are not quite where we want to be, which is to be challenging the top four teams, but every little thing that we can do is keeping us in the middle of the field as opposed to at the back. 

“For me, personally, I think it has been a good journey so far. Throughout testing, I was getting more comfortable. Then, Bahrain was an okay weekend - I think qualifying, there were a few nerves, but the race was going well until it ended.  

“I think Saudi was a very good weekend, in terms of getting more comfortable in the car in every session. The race didn’t go how we wanted, but from my side, I was pretty happy with my job and the stuff I could control.”  

That Oscar scored his first points at his home race provided a feel-good story for McLaren fans, but the young rookie insisted it was merely what the team deserved.  

Although it wasn’t Oscar’s first taste of the Australian Grand Prix, it was his first experience as an F1 driver in front of his home crowd, with the 22-year-old swamped on the Melbourne Walk for photographs and autographs.  

He has since been to Italy for a private test at Imola in the MCL35M, providing him with another opportunity to clock up mileage in F1 machinery. Ahead of travelling to Baku, he was back at base in Woking last week for further analysis, as the team continue to work hard on the MCL60. 

“Melbourne was a home race, with my home crowd, so there was a lot to take on board with that, as well as a lot to continue to learn, so it was an interesting weekend,” he said. “There were a few things I could have done better on track, but nice to get the first points of the year for myself, and some points in the bag for the team.  

“I think it is going well so far, and I feel like I am improving all of the time. It feels like it is on an upward trajectory, and we are getting the most out of our car. Hopefully, we can make the car a bit quicker. 

“It was nice to get more laps under the belt at Imola, it's always fun. It was good for training the neck and the other physical aspects of driving F1 cars. More laps, more time with the engineers, stuff that is only going to help me.”